Heartbreak for skipper

GUTTED Brian O'Driscoll admits he is heartbroken that his Lions tour is over, and boss Sir Clive Woodward has slammed the "amazing decision" not to quiz those responsible for the tackle that ended his tour.

GUTTED Brian O'Driscoll admits he is heartbroken that his Lions tour is over, and boss Sir Clive Woodward has slammed the "amazing decision" not to quiz those responsible for the tackle that ended his tour.

While O'Driscoll faces up to possible shoulder surgery and a lengthy lay-off, All Blacks pair Tana Umaga and Keven Mealamu will not be pursued over a dangerous double spear-tackle which seriously injured the Lions skipper.

Television footage showed the pair tipping O'Driscoll headlong into the Jade Stadium turf, leaving him with a dislocated right shoulder and a Lions Test captaincy reign that lasted just 77 seconds.

Although Lions management made their feelings known to match commissioner, South African Willem Venter, he decided against citing Mealamu and Umaga, leaving the matter closed.

O'Driscoll, t hough, is fuming about the episode and struggling to contain his emotions.

"I am absolutely gutted that my tour is over. There is a huge element of frustration and anger at the way it happened," he said.

"I have no doubt whatsoever there was some sort of spear tackle that ended it.

"When you have worked so hard for something like that, to have a minute and 17 seconds, it doesn't really feel justified.

"I certainly feel there was plenty in it. I have been on the receiving end before, but I felt this was completely unnecessary and certainly beyond the rules and regulations of the game.

"My real disappointment was that he (Umaga) didn't come up as I was being carried off, which I thought would just be a common courtesy between captains, whether he had been involved or not.

"I don't know whether that shows any element of guilt or not, but that certainly disappointed me.

"It could have been a lot more serious injury. I knew I was in trouble from the moment I was up in the air.

"It was a matter of getting my head out of the way to make sure it wasn't the part of my body that took the impact on the ground.

"If you look back, you are hugely disappointed with a shoulder dislocation, but with hindsight, it could have been worse if I had gone down on my head."

O'Driscoll vividly recalled the incident: "Leon MacDonald, the All Blacks full-back, took the ball into contact, and I made some sort of tackle.Then a ruck formed, and I actually managed to fight my way into the middle of the ruck and try to counter-ruck.

Disturb

"I was pushing Jerry Collins, because he was the man at the back of the ruck, to try and disturb the scrum-half. But two guys came around, picked a leg each up in the air, and, as I was up in the air, I got turned around and they pretty much finished off the tackle. It wasn't a case of just dropping me, I felt there was force in it.

"Television usually has umpteen different camera angles, and I just find it a little bizarre that there isn't one camera angle to have conclusive evidence that there was a lot more malice in it than has been said from the All Blacks camp.

"There were times after the game when I found it hard to keep the tears back."

Head coach Woodward added: "I think the tapes were conclusive. I am very disappointed the two players weren't even brought in to talk about it. But just to say nothing happened in that incident is, to me, an amazing decision to make."

Gareth Thomas has been appointed captain for the remainder of the tour.

But he will be without lock Danny Grewcock after he was handed a two-month ban for biting.